Greens demand NSW coal power closures

The New South Wales Greens are pushing the State Government to shut down two on the nation's oldest and most polluting power stations.

The carbon tax has prompted the State Government to consider the future of the Munmorah plant, on the central coast, and the Liddell station, in the Hunter Valley.

Premier Barry O'Farrell has described the Federal Government's tax plan as a "nightmare" for the people of NSW.

"I have asked the NSW Treasury to do a full review of the (carbon tax) package to determine the impact on NSW," Mr O'Farrell said on Sunday.

But Greens MP John Kaye says Mr O'Farrell should be taking advantage of the scheme, through a grant to pay for power stations to close.

"That's 8.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide that wouldn't go into the atmosphere every year. Tens of thousands of jobs would be created and we can create the new solar thermal power industry right here in New South Wales," Dr Kaye said.

"If Mr O'Farrell doesn't act now we will lose the opportunity, this state will be condemned to being the rust-bucket state in Australia.

"If we close down Munmorah and Liddell we will need to build two new large solar-thermal power stations.

"This can be done, we can manufacture the components in the Hunter Valley, we can locate them in the Upper Hunter."

Mr O'Farrell says he is concerned reduced profitability from state-owned coal power stations will reduce funds available to pay for essential services.

The Premier says he is also worried about the carbon tax's affect on steel jobs in the Illawarra region.

He says steelmakers Bluescope and OneSteel will have to pay the carbon tax, while their overseas competitors will not.

"Bluescope steel employs 5,000 people directly, in total about 11,000 people in Port Kembla. They are companies that sell overseas and they sell into this market," Mr O'Farrell said.

"They're selling into both markets, domestically and internationally, against competitors that don't have a carbon tax."

You have no doubt been hearing a lot about the Paris Agreement and know that it pertains to climate change, but are too embarrassed at this stage to ask for an overall explanation of what it's all about.